The Legend of Namimori
by MangaFreak15
Summary: AU: Once, a dragon named Kyouya encountered an intriguing herbivore in shining armor, who is on a mission to slay him. Meet Sawada Tsunayoshi, Tenth Head-in-training of the Vongola Royal Knights. Rated T for violence and possible swearing.
1. Chapter 1: Prince Tsunayoshi

**The Legend of Namimori**

**Summary: **Once, there was a mighty dragon named Kyouya. One day he meets a reluctant pipsqueak in shining armor, who is on a mission to slay him. Meet Sawada Tsunayoshi, Tenth Head-in-training of the Vongola Royal Knights.

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**Chapter One: Prince Tsunayoshi**

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It was hot, almost unbearably so for the young man sitting on the side of the worn dirt path. He had taken off his shining silver helmet for the moment, sweat-drenched brown locks sagging down from their usual spikes. He swiped his fingers across his face, smearing dirt tracks across his cheeks. It was so damn hot today, which was unusual weather for a country like Namimori. Most of the time it was pleasantly cool, with constant showers of sunlight to help with the growth of farmers' crops. But for some odd reason, the temperature had been climbing higher than usual for this year's autumn season. It was bizarre.

The rumors had started not too long ago, rumors of a malicious black _thing_ with eyes the color of blue steel, equipped with razor-sharp teeth and equally terrifying curved claws that shone like polished ivory. The thing was the cause of this abnormal weather change, the country folk whispered. It must be killed. Someone, slay it.

Now, the rumors had been retold again and again, passing from town to town, until some were so widely over-exaggerated and overblown with ridiculous details that even the teller himself would have a hard time believing it. There were such things like how the creature would descend from the sky, steal all the crops with one swipe of its claws, fly over to a town badly stricken with poverty, and burn the crops right in their faces. Which was stupid, of course, because if something like that had truly happened, there would be a civil war on the scale of World War I within Namimori itself.

It just so happened, by luck or sheer coincidence, that some of the less out-of-proportion rumors had made their way to Namimori Palace, where the Royal Knights of the Vongola famiglia resided in union with the royal family of Namimori: King Iemitsu and his lovely queen Nana, and their only son Prince Tsunayoshi. Prince Tsunayoshi happened to inherit the genes of his great ancestor, Giotto, and so was chosen by the Ninth Head of the Vongola Royal Knights, Timoteo, as his successor at the tender age of fourteen. In his following six years of brutal training under the Royal Knight heralded as the strongest man in the world, Reborn, Prince Tsunayoshi gained skills in combat and politics. He managed to maintain that sweet, charming personality that he was known for in his younger years, and because of it he accrued a small group of loyal followers:

Gokudera Hayato, a foreigner from a distant land who wandered into Namimori in his youth, had chin-length silvery hair that hung to the sides of his face, which was slightly spiked in the back to make him look more like a delinquent. He had bluish-green eyes that were filled with admiration, respect, and pride whenever he looked at the man he had promised his eternal loyalty to. He constantly proclaimed that he was Prince Tsunayoshi's trusted right-hand man. He was known for his rather explosive temper. One couldn't help but wonder at the coincidence that he happened to be a master at exploding weapons. He could hide them anywhere and everywhere on his person and no one would be able to tell. He owns a Box Weapon in the form of a Storm-class cat named Uri.

Yamamoto Takeshi, an apprentice swordsman under Master Swordsman Superbi Squalo of the Vongola Family's independent assassination unit, the Varia, had pledged his loyalty to Prince Tsunayoshi when the prince had saved him from falling to an untimely death from the top of the banister at the palace while they had been messing around. He had short, messy black hair and cheerful chestnut-brown eyes. He was known for his carefree grins, relaxed personality, and ability to settle conflicts quickly. He had been taught the Shigure Souen style by his father, but he taken up apprenticeship to the greatest swordsman in the world because he felt he needed refining. He owns two Rain-class Box Weapons in the forms of a swallow and a dog, named Kojirou and Jirou respectively.

Sasagawa Ryohei, an earnest physical combat fighter who loved to do things 'to the EXTREME', had become a part of Prince Tsunayoshi's posse when he witnessed the prince's combat abilities during a fight with a rival Knight. He had short white hair covering his scalp and dark-gray eyes that were filled with fiery spirit. He was known for his motto of "living to the extreme!" He happened to have a younger sister named Kyoko who worked as one of the maids in the royal palace, although it was often commented upon that they looked nothing alike. In his free time he practices boxing and combat tactics, which he learned from his former mentor Colonello of Vongola's special Arcobaleno unit. He owns a Sun-class box weapon in the form of a kangaroo named Kangaryuu.

Lambo, a lazy coward with a fetish for cows, was a member of the Bovino Famiglia until he was sent to live in the royal palace with Prince Tsunayoshi. There he underwent multiple reality checks at a young age, and he was trained to harness and use electricity as part of his fighting style under a shrewd scientific genius named Verde, who was part of the special Arcobaleno unit. He had messy, curly black hair and dark bluish-gray eyes. His right eye was usually closed, and his left eye tended to be half-lidded. To help him gather and store electrical energy, he used a set of yellow horns, which could be attached to the sides of his head. He also had a special device called a Ten-Year Bazooka, which, when used on someone, could swap that person with their future selves ten years ahead. He rarely uses it nowadays, choosing instead to store it in his closet for emergency purposes. He owns a Lightning-class Box Weapon in the form of a bull named Gyuudon.

Chrome Dokuro, a petite, quiet woman who loved to make illusions, joined Prince Tsunayoshi when her older brother Rokudo Mukuro came to Namimori in search of decent opponents. She had purplish-blue hair that she kept tied back in the style of a 'pineapple', similar to the way her brother wore his hair. She was known for her meek personality and the unique black skull patch she kept over her right eye. She and her brother suffered harsh times in their hometown after their parents died, so as a result she did not have much contact with normal social life. She did not know how to react whenever females of her age, or anyone beside her brother and Prince Tsunayoshi, treated her as a friend and equal. She always carried around a silver trident, which she used as a weapon to imitate her revered older brother. Mukuro was the one who trained her to use illusions, although later she would come under a temporary apprenticeship with Mammon, the illusion specialist of Vongola's special Arcobaleno unit. She owns a Box Weapon in the form of a Mist-class owl which bears no name, but Mukuro is capable of possessing it to help his younger sister when he himself is not around.

Rokudo Mukuro, Chrome's suave older brother, was a bit of an enigma to the royal family. He supported his younger sister with all the pride of an older brother, but at the same time his creepy personality insinuated that he held an ulterior motive when it came to Prince Tsunayoshi. The prince himself knew that for some bizarre reason Mukuro wanted to take control of his body, but he never allowed the blue-haired man to do so. Mukuro was known for his eerie bi-colored eyes; his left eye was blue, but his right eye was blood-red, usually with a Japanese number in it (from one to six). The numbers represented his "six paths of power," which he could tap into just by changing the energy flow into his eye. The number displayed told which power he was using. Mukuro also had the odd pineapple hair-style, which Chrome had copied. He remains somewhat loyal to the prince, but only the prince, since he despises being associated with the Royal Knights.

I-Pin, a teenage martial artist and childhood friend of Lambo's, was taken in as an apprentice to Fon, the martial arts master of the Arcobaleno unit, when she was a child. She grew up alongside Lambo while receiving training from Fon, so she has lived in the royal palace for most of her life. She is extremely flexible in her movements, as well as speedy. She wears two braids tied in halfway into double loops at the back of her head. Since she has known Prince Tsunayoshi for a long time, she has promised to protect him to the best of her ability as long as she was alive, and as long as he did not commit an act of betrayal to the Famiglia.

Miura Haru and Sasagawa Kyoko, two young women who have been living in the royal palace since they were younger, work as maids. Haru usually washes and mends clothes, but she has been found in the kitchen and bathrooms before, cooking together with Kyoko and the others or just cleaning up the bathroom for future use. She had shoulder-length dark amethyst-colored hair that she kept in a ponytail behind her head. Kyoko took care of some of the kitchen duties and a lot of the cleaning duties around the palace. It was a big place, so it took several maids to clean it in a day or two. Kyoko also sometimes talks to Prince Tsunayoshi to cheer him up when he seemed sad or moody. She has short orange-ginger hair that curls outward at the tips.

Fuuta, a teenager with a special skill in observational analysis and ranking, regarded Prince Tsunayoshi as an older brother of sorts. He has the power to rank anything in the world, which was gifted to him when he was still an infant. He does not know who gave it to him, but it has helped the royal family and the Vongola Royal Knights out of many situations that would have gone down more chaotically if it weren't for him. Timoteo assigned him to the Vongola Strategy Unit to aid in planning with his unique ranking powers. That way they would know who to send without wasting too many lives trying to defeat an enemy only the prince could defeat.

Irie Shouichi, an extremely smart strategist who has not revealed everything about his past (only that he ran away from his former boss). He is good at mathematics and calculations, so Timoteo appointed him the captain of the Vongola Strategy Unit. He has messy, slightly wavy red hair and blue glasses. He has the uncanny ability to fall asleep in the most unusual positions when he is extremely tired (like that one time the maids caught him sleeping against the wall in the middle of taking his shirt off). He respects Prince Tsunayoshi a great deal and does everything he can to help the younger man along.

Spanner, a foreign blond mechanic who ran away with Shouichi, is a technology geek beyond comparison (except to Giannini, who constant challenges him to contests to determine who is the better mechanic/inventor). He has blond hair that curls on the left above his ear, an odd ink tattoo on the left side of his neck, and usually wears a green jumpsuit with brown boots. From time to time he is seen in only a white T-shirt and dark cargo pants, usually when he isn't working in his technology lab. He loves creating robotic soldiers which he calls "Moscas," thereby leading to the creation of the Vongola M.O.S.C.A. Military Unit (Mission Operatives for Security, Combat, and Assault). He created special contact lenses to aid Prince Tsunayoshi in his attempt to perfect his most powerful attack at the time, the X-Burner. Prince Tsunayoshi still uses them to this day.

Now, moving on to the core problem. In order to be able to fully take control as the Tenth Head of the Vongola Royal Knights, Prince Tsunayoshi needed to prove his worth and resolve. So the Ninth Head held a meeting with the King and Queen of Namimori, along with the special Arcobaleno unit, to discuss what they should have the prince do. The meeting was long (lasted a good five hours) and the decision was difficult to make. On one hand, King Iemitsu and his wife objected to having their only son do anything that required him to risk much of his life. Reborn wanted to send him on the hardest mission they could come up with. Timoteo was leaning more towards Reborn's idea, though with less interest invested in the 'dangerous' area. The other Arcobaleno offered their own pieces of information, but for the most part sat back to watch the royal family argue over the issue with the Head of the Vongola Royal Knights.

Once the meeting was adjourned and a decision had been reached, the heavy-hearted King and Queen made their way slowly to their son's room to tell him about his trial. It wouldn't be pretty.

The prince was sitting at his desk, absently staring out the window as he rested his cheek against his palm. A smile played at his lips, lighting the joy and content present within those orbs of honey-brown. King Iemitsu swallowed, and bravely stepped forward even though he did not wish to disturb his son's moment of tranquility.

"Tsuna," he called, raising his voice loud enough to break through his son's trance.

The prince snapped out from his daydream and turned to give his parents a quizzical glance. "Well?" he asked softly. "What do I have to do?"

Queen Nana sobbed softly and hid her face into her husband's broad chest. King Iemitsu himself sported a grave expression, which told Prince Tsunayoshi all he needed to know. He knew the look well. His father often wore it in troubled times, particularly when he was weighed down by guilt and grief.

"It's bad, isn't it?" he said quietly, his smile falling into a neutral expression. "What I have to do…"

"I objected to it, but the final vote was against me," replied his father sadly. "I'm so sorry, son. Your trial test to become the Tenth Head of the Vongola Royal Knights will be the worst one out of all the trial tests that have been administered to former Heads of the Vongola Royal Knights. Tell me, have you heard about the mythical black beast yonder?"

Prince Tsunayoshi's brow furrowed a little. "Yes, I have. What of it?" _Don't tell me…_

"Your goal is to find this beast, slay it, and bring back proof of your victory."

Prince Tsunayoshi paused. "What is the form this beast takes?" _I knew it… I have to kill -_

Queen Nana took in a shuddering breath. King Iemitsu held her steady as he replied darkly, "A dragon."

_I have to kill… a dragon…_

Not too long later the twenty-year old prince found himself at the palace doors, fully clad in his custom knight's armor. He stored his Sky-class Box Weapon, Nuts, and his special mittens in the knapsack he had packed with rations, toiletries, and spare clothing. All the people in the royal palace were crowded in the foyer to see the young prince off on his journey. In the front were the King and Queen; Queen Nana was still sobbing softly and praying her son would come home safely. Prince Tsunayoshi's personal posse was standing in a huddled group off to the side, concern clearly reflecting in their faces. They had been told that this trial had to be completed by the prince alone, and it killed them to have to remain behind at the palace while the prince went on his journey.

"Juudaime," choked Gokudera. He was the prince's right-hand man, he shouldn't have to be forced to stay at the palace. He did not want Prince Tsunayoshi to go alone. Who knows what might happen to his beloved leader without him there?

"Bossu," whispered Chrome, peering at him with her one good eye. "Be careful."

Prince Tsunayoshi tried his hardest to smile at everyone, to assure them that he was going to be okay. Deep down he knew that he might not return - he was facing a legendary _dragon_ after all. He was the royal prince, born with rare Sky flames inside him, but he was only human.

One of the maids, Kyoko, stepped forward. "Prince Tsunayoshi, please accept this token of safety I made for you," she said. He held out a hand and she walked forward to drop it into his palm. He looked at it in surprise. It was a small blue charm with a fish in the center, and written on it in red was the word for 'safety'. He smiled gratefully at the retreating maid. Light pink dusted her cheeks as he thanked her for the gift.

"I'll keep it close to me right here," he said, unbuckling one of the shoulder guards to slip the charm into the hidden pocket in the padding underside. He strapped the shoulder guard back on and beamed at them. "See? Fits perfectly."

"Good luck, Tsuna," called Yamamoto. He laughed as Gokudera spluttered about how he shouldn't be so familiar with the prince. Prince Tsunayoshi waved at them, his lips curling into a small smile at their antics. He would miss them dearly. He shook his head lightly.

"Goodbye everyone," he said. "I'm off now." As he turned to walk away, loud trumpeting signaled his departure from the royal palace. His friends ran after him until he exited the gates, and from there they watched his shining silver back disappear down the path. Who knew when he would return?

And eight days later Prince Tsunayoshi found himself sitting at the side of the road sweating his brains out. It was so, so hot. He had finally managed to obtain a rough estimation of the dragon's whereabouts. It lived in an abandoned castle high up on Namimori Mountain, but the path there was steep and hard to climb. He groaned at the thought of tripping and falling to his death. The irony! Knowing his clumsiness, he was bound to trip on a rock or two. Or three. Or four thousand.

He grimaced at his sweat-soaked shirt, which clung unpleasantly to him like a second skin. He needed to find a river to wash off in. This was unacceptable. He could almost imagine bursting into the dragon's lair, sweat dripping from his pores so the floor became slick enough for him to slide on, and he would undoubtedly do so and smack straight into the wall. Or, in the worst case scenario, slide right into the dragon's open mouth and be digested as the dragon's next meal. He shivered at the thought.

Prince Tsunayoshi finally willed himself to move from his spot. He put his helmet back on, and trudged off in search of the nearest source of water. He needed to bathe. And replenish his water supply.

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**First KHR fic. What do you think? Please review. This idea was stuck in my head and wouldn't disappear, so I wrote it out. I have a vague idea of how the interaction between Tsuna and Kyouya will play out. And I have this totally epic scene planned for later. **

**MangaFreak15**


	2. Chapter 2: The Dragon

**The Legend of Namimori**

**Summary: **Once, a dragon named Kyouya encountered an intriguing herbivore in shining armor, who is on a mission to slay him. Enter Sawada Tsunayoshi, Tenth Head-in-training of the Vongola Royal Knights. AU!

**Note: All characters + weapons introduced after the TYL arc are not present in this story.**

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**Chapter Two: The Dragon**

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Prince Tsunayoshi isn't quite sure when it happened, or how, or why. All he knew was that one moment he was climbing up the mountain side in the blistering heat, rivulets of sweat trickling down his face with every exertion he made to move himself upward, and the next moment he felt like he'd been dumped into a parallel dimension where the boiling heat had never existed. A pleasant breeze flew past the slope where he was, sweeping some of the warmth away. He flipped his visor up to take a better look at his surroundings.

All around him was green, green, and more green, with miniscule splotches of brown. As he squinted to make out the bright sun above him, he noticed that everything seemed dimmer. When he took the time to finally examine his surroundings more carefully, he noticed that the area was shrouded in a thin layer of cool mist. He was perplexed by the fact that the mist was heavy enough to block out the heat from the sun, yet remained light enough that he could still see his surroundings almost as clear as they were in direct light. How quaint. His armored foot dug into the mountainside as he scrabbled for a handhold.

After what seemed to be hours he reached level ground. He pulled himself over the ledge, panting furiously. He just wasn't cut out for so much physical exertion over a long period of time. His arms were killing him. He was the prince, damn it! Why couldn't he have a better body than this girlish frame he'd been born with? He gazed up at the sky, smiling as he caught a lone puff of white slowly floating its way through. It looked like cotton.

Deeming himself fit enough to walk around again, Tsuna got up off the ground. He turned around, eyes widening behind the visor as he glimpsed the sight of a crumbling castle entrance. The thing was enormous. The stone had long since eroded with rain and wind, giving the castle front a weathered, gray look. The structure was broken in places. Long, green vines snaked along the walls, looping through the holes and climbing over the corners and the top of the castle. A half-charred flag swayed limply over the arched doorway. Overall, its very presence exuded gloom and menace. No color, no guards, no laughter, no lush vegetation or colorful flowers blooming all around - just bare rock, and a castle that looked to have been abandoned for centuries. The dragon lived here?

He took a deep breath to calm his thudding heart, and stepped towards the castle. It was time to find it.

Tsuna walked cautiously into the foyer, his senses alert for any sign of danger. His Hyper Intuition had been turned on to aid him, though he held back from using his Sky Flames until the dragon decided to appear. The entrance hall was a mess of blackened furniture and rubble. He could see the sky from a gigantic hole in the ceiling; the chunks of stone that had fallen from it lay at his feet in pieces. The walls were barely holding up, since there appeared to be massive gouges carved into them at random intervals, like a beastly creature had gone on a rampage in the hall. Old, dusty paintings of royalty and naked women lay cracked, charred, and crushed on the stone floor, scattered in pieces. He shuddered when he saw a skeleton in broken armor slumped against the wall. A light, rust-colored stain darkened the gray stones around the skeleton, a clear indication that the poor man had lost his life in battle and bled out against the surrounding stones.

It was still creepy to see. He moved on, forcing himself to look ahead instead of seeing the bleaching bones of the castle's former occupants. Staring at them too long might make him envision what he himself looked like as a skeleton. He liked being alive, thank you very much.

The dining hall wasn't much better. Rubble along the sides due to the destroyed wall on the right lay strewn about on the floor. Tsuna shivered as a small breeze blew through the gaping hole. Thankfully there were no skeletons here, just a bunch of rocks, some broken royal chairs, and an overturned dining table that had been split in half. The terrifying claw marks swept across its dull surface, once again reinforcing the idea that there was a monster here that had obviously attacked the castle and killed all its occupants. Now he had to hunt it down to take its life as proof of his strength as the successor of the Vongola Royal Knights (not to mention being the crown prince).

Tsuna made his way through the various halls, grimacing and gaping at all the destruction. If the dragon could do this to a castle full of soldiers, what could he, a lone knight, do? The only trump card he could think of that he had was his Dying Will flame. These people most likely hadn't had that advantage. On top of that, his Dying Will flame was a pure Sky flame, the rarest flame of all. He just had to make sure the dragon didn't kill him before he could use it.

He soon came to a winding staircase that was cracked and crumbling in places. He eyed it warily, testing the first stair by placing his foot on it and applying pressure. Good, it held. He held on to the frail-looking rail as he placed all his weight (including the armor) on to the step. It felt firm and solid beneath his foot. Excellent. He began making his way to the top of the staircase, carefully testing each stair before he used it. He tried to avoid the spots where the stairs had been damaged, signifying the possibility of a weakened structure.

Tsuna finally came to the top, which was surprisingly less damaged than the ground floor below. The upper level looked more intact, if the lack of debris and rubble in most parts indicated anything. The double glass doors in front of him were broken, littering the floor with shards. He stepped over them and opened the door, revealing a mostly-undamaged balcony that looked over the castle's back yard. He flipped his visor up to get a breath of that clean, beautiful air. He walked over to the balcony railing and leaned over it, trying to map out a view of the open yard below.

What he saw made him gasp quietly.

There it was! The dragon. It looked so… so…

…peaceful?

Tsuna stared at it in awe, unconsciously leaning further over the railing to catch a better glimpse of the magnificent beast. It lay on its side, wings folded up, tail curled up around its body. The sunlight from above shone down upon its deep purplish-black scales, spiking up at its spine, head, and tail. A flimsy-looking crest arched up along the top of its skull, ending where its neck began. A small row of spines curved out from its neck, steadily increasing in size until they reached its back. Tsuna's eyes took in the sight of a group of huge spikes poking out from the beast's back, gleaming wickedly in the sunlight. It would be pretty nasty to get impaled on those things. In the way, it almost made the dragon look like a hedgehog hybrid. He had to stifle a chuckle at the thought.

The dragon's tail curled protectively around its body, tiny spines lining it from base to tip. Its head lay atop one of its front legs, eyes tightly shut as it snoozed in the sunlight. Its legs looked thick; wider than two of Tsuna's helmets put together side-by-side. Its claws looked lethal. The ivory-colored talons, from that distance, looked at least a third of his body, if not more.

Tsuna smiled, crossing his arms on top of the balcony railing and resting his chin upon them. The dragon looked so content lying there in the yard sunbathing. He didn't have the heart to go wake it up just because it was his mission to slay it. Maybe he would let it sleep a bit longer…

Unfortunately, he forgot that he was leaning on a centuries-old stone railing that had been weathered by years of wind and water. If one put too much weight against it for longer than it could withstand, it would ultimately -

_CRACK._

- break.

And so Prince Tsunayoshi let out an unmanly shriek as the railing crumpled under his weight, sending him, the debris, and part of the cracked balcony falling down to the open yard below.

"Hiiiiiiii-!"

_**BOOM!**_

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At the resounding cacophony, the dragon's eyes shot open. The next second he had leaped to his feet, snarling visage set in to his face. Who dares to disturb his sleep? They would pay!

He stalked over to the pile of rubble, ready to murder the moron who woke him up.

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"Ow…"

Tsuna moaned as he pushed himself up. That _hurt_. A lot. He definitely wasn't going to lean on anymore balcony railings from now. Even with the helmet, the impact had still jarred his skull. Wincing at the dull throb attacking his head, he looked up -

- and came face to face with a gargantuan snout in front of him that was halfway open, exposing rows and rows of four-inch long fangs. He froze, his heart literally skipping a beat in fear as he registered what he was facing. Shit! He woke the dragon up, and now it was going to eat him! The creature's hot breath blew over his face, making his nose scrunch up at the abhorrent stink. He shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the dragon to snap him up and gobble him down.

When a few seconds past and he could still feel the dragon's breath fanning over his face, he tentatively cracked his eyelids open. Nope, the mouth was still there. It's just… why wasn't the dragon eating him?

"Herbivore."

The unexpected voice came from out of nowhere and startled Tsuna so much that he almost let out another shriek. The voice was deep, slightly rough, and distinctly male. Who was it coming from? He was pretty sure there was no one else here except this monster in front of him, so was the voice… from the dragon?

"You have disturbed my sleep. Prepare to be bitten to death."

Was the dragon joking or did it really mean he would be turned into a dragon chow?

He barely dodged those enormous jaws as they suddenly - and speedily - chomped down on the mound of rubble he'd previously been sitting in. Guess the dragon wasn't kidding, then. He opened his knapsack and pulled out his special mittens. As he activated his Sky flames, his mittens turned into black and silver gloves with a blue Vongola crest at the back.

The dragon lunged at him, snarling. Tsuna boosted himself to the side with his flames, ducking to avoid a powerful swipe of the dragon's claws. However, his reflexes weren't fast enough to dodge the sweeping tail that slammed into him with the force of a boulder. The tiny spines lining the creature's tail scraped against his armor, but thankfully failed to pierce through. He was thrown across the yard into one of the castle's walls, causing a cloud of dust to rise up around him.

The dust cloud obscured him for only a few seconds, then he had to scramble backwards to avoid becoming crushed into a knightly pancake as the dragon pounced on his position. He was barely able to swing his hand in an arc to create his Sky-flame shield before one of the dragon's claws slammed down on it, attempting to get to the human behind it. The dragon roared, upping the intensity of its assault as it battered away furiously at his only defense.

Tsuna knew even his shield would break at this rate. So he prepared to make a speedy getaway as soon as he found a pause between the dragon's relentless blows. The Sky-flame shield began to crack, proof of the dragon's immense strength. Normally it would take at least fifty men battering at the shield all at once to even fracture it a little, and that would have taken them a long time. But this dragon had already almost broken through it, and it was only three minutes.

As the dragon swung his claws down for a final blow, Tsuna immediately retracted his flames and made a run for it. He used his flames to boost himself across the yard, to get as much distance as possible between him and the dragon. The resounding crash behind him told him that the dragon would have definitely killed him if he had remained behind the shield for a second longer. Well, he wasn't ready to die yet.

The beast emerged from the broken castle wall, steel-blue eyes gleaming in excitement.

"Herbivore," it rumbled.

Tsuna eyed it warily, still maintaining a semi-defensive stance as it approached.

"You are the first one to survive against me for this long," it continued, pausing in the middle of the courtyard. "It would be a waste for you to die here."

Tsuna frowned at it. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I have a proposal for you," it replied. "But first, tell me why you are here."

"I am here on a mission to slay you to prove my worth as the successor to the Vongola Royal Knights," answered Tsuna, confused as to why the dragon was suddenly asking him questions. Shouldn't it still be trying to maim him?

The dragon barked out a laugh. "Slay me! Herbivore, if you are able to so much as defeat me, I will willingly allow you to take my life as your prize. However -" his eyes flashed with something unidentifiable, but made Tsuna shiver all the same "- if I defeat you, you will stay here with me as my prisoner and provide me entertainment."

Tsuna quietly contemplated his options. If he agreed to fight the dragon and won, he would be able to go home and officially become the Tenth Head of the Vongola Royal Knights. If he agreed to fight and lost, he would be stuck here until the dragon got bored and decided to eat him. If he didn't agree, the dragon would probably kill him anyway. Or he could run away… but that would be automatic suicide because he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to outrun a dragon no matter how fast he was. Only one option seemed reasonable to him, so he opened his mouth to tell the dragon his decision.

"I accept."

"Then, herbivore," began the dragon, crouching low with his belly to the ground, "I will bite you to death."

Tsuna called on the power of his Sky flames for aid. "I have to win," he told himself, determined. "I will go back home to all my friends and my family. They're counting on me."

The dragon sprung forward without a word of warning, but Tsuna was prepared. He ducked as the dragon tried to clamp down on his head and used his flames to slide under the dragon's stomach. He aimed a fist straight upward, orange-red flames leaping around his closed hand, and felt his fist impact against the dragon's soft flesh.

The dragon roared as Tsuna's Sky flames sent it flying straight up into the air. Its stomach ached from the power packed into that punch. Tsuna shot up after it, reappearing above it before it could regain its bearings and he punched it again with his flaming fist. The dragon was sent careening dizzily down to the courtyard below, but it recovered much quicker this time. It turned in mid-air and opened its mouth wide. Tsuna saw what was coming and dove to the side just as a condensed funnel of purple flames spewed from the dragon's mouth. The flames spiraled into the sky and disappeared.

Tsuna's heart was slamming itself into his ribcage as he realized how close he had been to being incinerated. He was still staring into the distance where the flame funnel had dispersed. As he hyperventilated in his head, he conveniently forgot that he had a real, live dragon to deal with.

Tsuna was snapped out of his thoughts when something smacked into his face, slipping through the half-open visor guard, and _scraped_, tearing through the skin of his right cheek. He screamed in pain, clutching at his face as the tail cracked hard against his armor, sending him crashing into the ground. He lay there for a few moments, clenching his teeth as he willed his mind to forget about the agonizing pain of having tiny spines carve into his face when he was stupidly zoning out in the middle of a battle. Focus, he chanted. Focus, focus, focus.

His Hyper Intuition shrieked at him to move aside. He rolled to the right to avoid the gigantic claw that crashed down into the spot where he had just been laying. God, his cheek hurt. He closed his right eye because that side of his face pained him too much for him to concentrate. He took a deep breath as he leaped to his feet. He needed to prevent the dragon from being able to fly if he wanted to win.

The dragon flew towards him, deadly claws ready to cleave the human to pieces. Tsuna dodged its blows and jumped into the air. Using his Sky flames to propel himself through the air, he aimed for the dragon's wings. He successfully caught on to one before the dragon could avoid him.

"Zero Point Breakthrough: First Edition!"

The flames on his gloves and forehead died as he entered a minus state. The dragon's wings froze as Tsuna made use of the First's famous technique. He was glad it worked; the technique had been originally created to counter and freeze Dying Will flames but he had been working on trying to freeze things without the flames. He let go of the dragon's wings and watched as the flailing beast impacted into the solid ground.

The dragon staggered around, clearly not expecting to become grounded. It flopped on its side and attempted to crack the ice around its wings, but Tsuna knew that only Dying Will flames would be able to melt it.

After moments of futilely trying to free its wings, the dragon gave up and decided to focus on defeating the human instead. Tsuna shot forward to meet it as it opened its mouth to let out another devastating energy beam. He dodged to the side to escape it, and closed in on his opponent. The dragon's jaws snapped at him as he tried to punch it again, forcing him to rocket backwards to prevent himself from getting bitten in half.

Deciding to end the fight once and for all, Tsuna dove for his forgotten knapsack, which lay on the ground next to the broken wall. The dragon came after him with renewed ferocity, its tail whipping around behind it. Tsuna boosted himself into the air just out of the dragon's range. He reached into his knapsack and pulled out his headphones and contact lens box. As the dragon stalked around below him, steel-blue eyes gazing impatiently up at him, he put his gear on. He tossed his knapsack to the ground. As the headphones settled over his ears and the contacts over his eyes, he whispered, "Operation X."

"_Roger, boss. Initiating X-Burner sequence."_

His body moved into the proper stance, feet apart, hands facing in opposite directions. The familiar warmth of the soft yellowish-orange flames behind him supported him as his flame output steadily increased.

"_Increasing output in right burner. 180,000 FV… 200,000 FV…"_

Maybe he wouldn't use it at full power… that might blow up the whole castle along with the mountainside. He needed a place to land, after all.

"_Increasing output in left burner. 170,000 FV… 190,000 FV…210,000 FV…"_

The contact lenses locked on to his target, which was starting to get irritated by the human's lack of action.

"_Gauging symmetry. Standby for launch."_

The dragon didn't get a single word of warning as a powerful blast of flames burst out from Tsuna's outstretched hand. Its surprised roar died as the flames incinerated practically everything in their path, throwing the dragon backwards. The intense heat lasted for about a minute, before Tsuna deemed it safe enough to finish his attack. The flames had gouged a deep trench into the yard, which ended all the way at the other end. The dragon lay still at that end, smoke still rising from its scales. Tsuna landed on the ground and cautiously approached the downed beast.

One steel-colored eye flickered open weakly.

"…You win, herbivore," it said wearily. "You may take my head as your prize."

Tsuna retrieved his knapsack from where he had thrown it, taking out a small silver dagger with the Vongola crest engraved into the handle. He pushed his Sky flames into it, turning the dagger into a sword made of Sky flames. He approached the defeated dragon, ready to complete his mission.

Something struck him as he stood over it, sword held high over his head. He studied the features of the beast, wondering what the emotion was he felt coiling painfully in his chest. The dragon laid still, eyes closed in resignation as it waited for its life to end.

"Hurry up, herbivore. You don't have all day."

And then, Tsuna knew what it was he felt.

Sadness. He felt sad because he had to kill it. Even though it was for the sake of his mission, he didn't want to take the life of this magnificent creature. It looked so pitiful there, lying on its side. It shouldn't look like this. It should be flying around, strong, powerful, and majestic. To kill it now - it seemed so _wrong._

He extinguished his Sky flames and let the dagger clatter to the ground.

The dragon opened its eyes curiously as he stepped backward. "What's going on? You need my head as proof of your victory, don't you?" it asked.

"I… I can't do it," whispered Tsuna, his bangs falling over his face to shadow his eyes. "I can't kill you."

The dragon snorted, closing its eyes again. "How pathetic, herbivore. Giving your enemy mercy," he said.

"Well, I'm not heartless," replied Tsuna. "I hate fighting. I hate violence. I don't like to kill. I do it for the sake of the things I hold dear, but when it's just me, I can't… I'm sorry, I don't think it's right for me to kill you."

"Is that so…"

The dragon opened its eyes to study the human who had spared its life. "You're interesting, human. What do they call you?"

Tsuna smiled at the dragon, although it came out as more of a grimace because of his throbbing cheek. "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, the crown prince of Namimori, and the Tenth Head-in-training of the Vongola Royal Knights," he answered, sitting down near the dragon's head. "What about you? Do you have a name?"

The dragon paused for a moment. "…The name given to me is Kyouya. I permit you to use it," it said.

"Do you mind if I stay here? I think I would like to know more about you," said Tsuna. "A lot of things I have read about dragons don't seem to match up with the way you act."

"The castle is a rotting wreck, Tsunayoshi. If you are able to successfully live in it, you are welcome to stay for how ever long you like," said Kyouya. "Now leave me alone. I need to rest."

Tsuna patted his new friend gently on the snout, earning a disgruntled grumble. He stood up quietly and picked up his things. It was time to find a useable bedroom for the duration of his stay with the dragon.

* * *

**Wow! I wasn't expecting this chapter to become this long. 4000+ words and almost 9 pages. Ahem. Yeah, I was trying to write about a thousand words per day. In fact, I'm so obsessed with this story that I already started writing out the ending on paper. Hahaha…**

**Please review! Thanks.**

**MangaFreak15**


	3. Chapter 3: Debunking Myths about Dragons

**The Legend of Namimori**

**Summary: **Once there was a dragon named Kyouya, who one day encounters an intriguing herbivore in shining armor. Meet Sawada Tsunayoshi, Tenth Head-in-training of the Vongola Royal Knights of Namimori. AU!

**Note: All characters + weapons introduced after the TYL arc are not present in this story.**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Debunking Myths About Dragons**

* * *

When Prince Tsunayoshi had said he wanted to stay to learn more about dragons, Kyouya hadn't expected something like… this.

Sunbathing in the courtyard while the herbivore sat cross-legged next to his claws, leaning back on them for support. The human had taken off his shiny metal armor, and was clad in a red button-up shirt with black trimmings along with a pair of black leggings. Kyouya was surprised to find that underneath the silver helmet, the herbivore had spiky brown hair and a face that didn't look older than eighteen years. Definitely unexpected. Kyouya didn't like surprises, but this herbivore was intriguing him more and more. The young man had taken out a writing utensil from his knapsack, as well as some fairly new parchment, and looked over expectantly for answers.

"So, Kyouya," he began, scratching something down quickly on his sheet of parchment, "can you tell me about yourself? Like, how you ended up here? Or who your parents were, if you knew them?"

"Herbivore, I was birthed from an egg."

Tsuna huffed, blowing a few errant strands of brown hair out of his eyes. "I know that! But shouldn't your mother have kept watch over you while waiting for you to hatch?" he asked.

"She did no such thing," snorted the dragon. "When I awoke from my deep slumber to break out of my shell, I was all alone in a disgusting damp cave with nothing to keep me warm except the flames my egg was incubated in."

"Not even siblings?" gasped Tsuna.

"…I loathe to admit that I'd forgotten about that irksome pest who hatched in the same place as I," said Kyouya, grimacing. "I would rather not talk about, much less think about, the irritating one."

"So you had a nest-brother," concluded Tsuna, scrawling the info down. "What did he look like? Did he have a name?" How the herbivore knew that the irritating pest was of the male gender, Kyouya wasn't quite sure. Perhaps it was within humans' faulty reasoning that an unknown party must be male unless proven otherwise.

"Herbivore, did you not just hear me say that I do not want to talk about that -"

"Hey, I just want to know more about you guys!" retorted Tsuna, lightly smacking the dragon on the head with his writing utensil. "Now, tell me."

The dragon seemed miffed about being ordered around by some human more than ten times smaller than him, and showed it by baring his teeth angrily. Tsuna rolled his eyes at Kyouya's childish behavior.

"Do not think for even a second you have the right to order me around like a common dog, Prince Tsunayoshi," sneered the dragon. "I am not your _pet_."

"Fine, _please_ tell me about this dragon who shared birthing grounds with you," said Tsuna cheekily. "No need to be so snarky, you know."

"Snar - do you want me to eat you, herbivore?" demanded Kyouya. "Because I will take great pleasure in chewing your puny head to pieces."

Tsuna's eye twitched visibly. "Okay, this is getting too far," he sighed. "Can you please just tell me about your nest-brother? I would like to know about him."

The dragon harrumphed, but grudgingly settled down to begin his tale. "Listen up, and listen well, herbivore. I won't say this again. If you dare interrupt me, I will bite you to death," he threatened. Tsuna nodded quickly, pen poised over the parchment. Kyouya averted his gaze to the sky, eyes narrowed as he began to recall long forgotten memories of his distant past.

"My nest-brother's name is Byakuran…"

* * *

_Warm. It was… warm. Almost hot. Stifling, even. And cramped. He wanted out. He could barely move around in this tiny space he was curled up in. He wiggled his small jaws tentatively, trying to free his baby claws from their position underneath his lower jaw. He squirmed; it was so uncomfortable. He began to thrash around as much as he could, knocking his head and tail against the hard walls enveloping his body. Yes, he made a crack! He beat his little tail against the tiny, jagged line that began to spread outward, fragmenting rapidly because it could not hold up against his repeated attacks. He pushed his head up, punching through the fragile shell with a victorious croon. Finally, he was free! He wriggled around a bit, trying to get the rest of his body out of the cramped shell. He was covered in some sort of disgusting, slimy fluid that he tried to shake off._

_Then he felt his scales begin to dry, the weird fluid peeling off in flakes. Out of curiosity, he looked down. Soft purple flames licked at his baby feet, the heat caressing him gently as it dried him off. He bent down and tried to bite the flames. The tongues danced away merrily, as if they knew what he was trying to do. He felt annoyed when his snout hit the ground instead, and looked away to further examine his surroundings._

_His eyes landed on another egg not too far away, wreathed in glowing orange flames that flickered protectively around the oval shell. The egg itself was pure white, with a single purple stripe crossing it around the center. He tilted his head in confusion. The egg hadn't hatched yet. Was it not ready to come out? Well then, he'd have to help it come out. He tried to pad over to the other egg, but to his dismay his legs were shaky and unsteady. He couldn't walk._

_Determined to get over to the other egg, he slowly put one foot forward, staying still until it stopped wobbling. Then another foot. Then the next. A baby draconic smirk adorned his face. See, he could walk. These legs wouldn't stop him from getting to his goal._

_When he deemed himself capable to walking without falling over, he immediately tried to pounce on the other egg. He let out a surprised yelp when the orange flames flared up and batted him away from the egg. He smacked into the hard cave wall, growling when his snout throbbed in pain. He was just a newborn, so he could get hurt easily. His eyes flashed in anger when he turned back to the flames. So they wanted to challenge him, huh? He would show them!_

_Five tries later, he laid on the ground exhausted. Those flames were tough! He couldn't reach the other egg no matter how much he attacked. They always smacked him away. He sulkily dragged himself back to his own broken eggshell, taking comfort in the purple flames that wrapped around him protectively. Yawning sleepily, he succumbed to his weariness._

_When he woke up, he knew only one thing: he was __**hungry**__. He needed to find something to eat, and fast. He took a quick look at the egg sharing his cave-space. It still hadn't hatched. He had probably been here longer, then. He snorted. Weakling. Now, off to find food._

_He walked around for a while, finally coming to a small opening in the wall that emitted bright yellow light. Excited, he poked his head outside. But he cringed at the blinding light and immediately pulled himself back into the dark cave. Too bright! He squeezed his eyes shut to get rid of the weird blob in his vision that appeared after he looked outside._

_How was he supposed to get food if he would just get blinded whenever he stuck his snout out? He grumbled to himself as he slumped dejectedly against the rough wall of the cave, trying to think of the best way to approach this situation. He came up with nothing, since his young mind had not yet experienced very much. He would just have to bear with the bright light, he told himself._

_Hunger became a major driving force for him as he forced himself to go back outside. He blindly rushed forward (a novice's mistake), but since he was unable to see where he was going he slammed into something a few seconds later. He reeled backwards, plonking on his rear in pain. He rubbed his snout against the ground to try to ease the throbbing. He was surprised when, instead of moist dirt and stone, he was met with something soft, thin, and rather ticklish. He sniffed at it curiously, but was alarmed when he suddenly sneezed. He tried to scoot away from the evil ticklish things, but found that when he opened his eyes, the ticklish things were all around him. What was it called? It looked different than the cave; brighter and smaller. He picked at a cluster with his baby claws. They bent to the ground._

_As he examined his surroundings, he realized that what he bumped into earlier was something tall and brown. He sniffed it, crooning quietly when he found out that he could sharpen his claws on its surface. He needed to be able to protect himself from predators who would try to eat him. He scratched at it ferociously, smirking when he deemed his claws sharp enough. He tested it out by swiping at the brown thing where he had been previously hard at work. His draconic grin widened when his claws left four deep gash marks on it. Nobody would dare mess with him now!_

_A shadow passed overhead. He looked up, beholding a lone bird circling in the sky. It was brown and white, and looked tasty. But it was so far away; how was he going to eat it? He twisted his neck to see if there were any ways he could find to get up to his flying prey. His hunger was forgotten when he spotted two oddly-shaped things sticking out from his back on either side of his spikes. What were they? He experimentally tried to move them. Much to his delight, they could move up and down. The breeze created by flapping them felt pleasant to him. But what were they for? How did he use them?_

_He flapped them again, and let out a soft squeal as he felt his feet briefly leave the ground. Unfortunately he tired out quickly, so he flopped back on the ground after a few seconds. He felt his resolve solidify as he gazed up at the sky. The bird was long gone, but now he had an extra pair of appendages to practice with. Oh, his stomach growled again._

_An alluring scent suddenly drifted by his nose. He bolted upright, eyes and ears alert for prey. The smell was coming from somewhere in front of him. His eyes narrowed. He bounded through the ticklish green things, following the path of the scent. The trail ended at a hollowed out log that was rotting at one end. He peered through the opening, and his gaze met the frightened eyes of a fluffy black-and-white rabbit. Apparently his gleeful grin was too scary for it, because in the next second it fled out the other end. He immediately withdrew his head from the log and ran after it, tripping a few times because he still wasn't completely used to using his legs. The rabbit hopped away as fast as it could, but despite his small size he was still faster (impressive considering he was still only two days old). He caught up to it and pounced. The rabbit struggled under his baby grip, but he silenced it by clamping his jaws down on its neck and tearing through tender flesh and bone. It fell limp. He had caught his first meal. Heheheh, he bit it to death. So, what did that make him? A hunter? He shrugged mentally and pushed the minor matter to the back of his mind as he focused on satiating his empty stomach._

_When he was done, only the rabbit's bones remained. The soil was stained with dark blood. His tongue flicked out to lick away the remaining traces from his mouth as he headed back to the cave. He was feeling sleepy._

_As he curled up comfortably in the middle of the purple flames, he yawned and closed his eyes in preparation for a nice, long nap. Perhaps he was imagining it, but before he drifted off he thought he saw the other egg wiggle._

* * *

"Wow, you were pretty adaptive when you were only two days old," said Tsuna in awe. "When I was two days old, all I did was probably eat, sleep, and cry."

"You forgot to mention dumping waste," pointed out Kyouya, smirking when his companion blushed.

"S-shut up! Anyways, continue with your story. I think it's interesting since it completely goes against almost everything I've ever learned about dragons," said Tsuna, looking away from the dragon he was leaning against.

"That's because you silly herbivores have it in your heads that you know everything," snorted Kyouya. "What a foolish notion."

"It's not me!" protested Tsuna, waving around his half-filled sheet of parchment. "I learned things from books in the library we have at home. My tutor from hell made me read five books every day."

"Tutor from hell?" repeated the dragon amusedly.

"Yeah, his name's Reborn," mumbled Tsuna, sinking into a slight slouch. "The strongest hitman in the world he might be, but when he's in his tutor mode he has a sadistic streak a mile wide."

Kyouya cracked a toothy grin. "I would like to have a match with this tutor of yours someday, if possible," he said.

Tsuna stared at him incredulously. "Prepare to get your guts blown out," he muttered. "Every day I trained with him he would nearly kill me. Um, back to the main topic here. Where were we?"

"Hmph, such an air-headed herbivore."

"Hey!"

* * *

_Something felt different when he woke up. He opened his eyes slowly, sluggishly looking around to see if anything was amiss. His eyes fell upon the other egg. There was… something about it that wasn't there before. What was it?_

_He got to his feet and trotted over to the other egg, stopping just outside the wreath of orange flames still dancing around the egg. He peered closely at it, wondering what was different. His steel-blue eyes widened when he saw it - a tiny crack in the surface of the shell. The egg was hatching! He felt excitement course through his body at the thought of having a playmate. He better be strong, otherwise he'd be __**bitten to death**__, just like that rabbit. Heheh, come out, little dragon… he wanted to play._

_He waited for the crack to lengthen, for the shell to bust open in a feverous rush, revealing another dragon poking its head out as it took its first breath of sweet freedom._

_None came. The egg was silent. He was ultimately disappointed, and turned away to walk back to his napping spot._

_He didn't remember when he fell asleep again, nor did he remember going back to the other egg and laying down at the very edge of the orange flames._

_What he did know was that when he opened his eyes, he was greeted by two curious mauve-colored orbs looking down at him. He stared, stupefied, until his mind finally caught up to him and processed what he was seeing. He sprung up, snarling._

_The other dragon squeaked and stumbled backward head-over-tail in the attempt to get away from the scary one who he found sleeping next to his nest. He pounced eagerly, pinning the baby to the ground amidst a bit of rough flailing and flashing his developing fangs in a victorious grin. The other dragon pouted._

_He eased off the other one so he could sit up and breathe. The younger dragon was pure white, though he had light-purple eyes and a strange purple marking underneath his left eye. He was smaller too, thin and light; a speedy fighter, his instinct told him._

_The other dragon opened his mouth, and a garbled mixture of __**something**__ came out. It was indiscernible, because it made absolutely no sense. The tiny dragon looked frustrated that he couldn't talk to the older, slightly bigger dragon._

_He made a wild guess. His answering croon wasn't perfect either, but at least it made more sense than the sheer sound the younger dragon choked up, "Kyouya."_

_The white dragon brightened visibly, a childish, draconic smile tugging at his snout. He tried again, trying to imitate Kyouya's low croon. It came out more of a high-pitched warble (something he wanted to sulk about), but he managed to chirp happily, "Byakuran."_

* * *

"You could _talk _when you were two days old?" asked Tsuna, wide-eyed in shock. "And hold on, how in the world did you know what your name was?"

Kyouya's initial answer was a slap to the face from his tail; thankfully, he used the side without spines. "Herbivore, I told you not to interrupt me," hissed the dragon, annoyed. "Do you want me to bite you to death? And for your information, my name was engrained into my memory by my mother. Though she did not stay to watch over me, her dragon magic was very powerful."

"No, no, I'm sorry," said Tsuna hastily. "I'm just really surprised. I mean, wow, dragons are really different from humans…" He looked up at the sky, reflecting the plain blue monotone in his eyes. "Listening to you like this makes me feel… like, you know, stupid. I'm a born human, I can't match up to you at all in terms of ability and strength. I might have a mother, but she's not all powerful or magical like yours must be."

"Silly herbivore. You defeated me, remember?"

"But that's because I had help from my Sky flames," said Tsuna. "Without them, you definitely would have killed me. I would have probably been flattened without a glance." He laughed quietly, and glanced back down at his thin parchment, skimming over what information he had already written down. The page was full.

* * *

**Shorter than the previous chapter by at least a thousand words, but I just felt like cutting it off here. Finally learning some stuff about Kyouya's past! Byakuran plays a very important role in this story. You'll find out at the end. Till next time.**

**Please review! Thanks.**

**MangaFreak15**


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